Copper Prices Find Support
In Low Supplies, Strong Demand

By

Gavin Maguire Dow Jones Newswires

Updated May 2, 2005 12:01 a.m. ET

NEW YORK -- Copper prices may well have already peaked, but low inventories and continued strong consumption are likely to prevent any extended price fall and may prompt additional price increases over the coming several months.

Those strong fundamental reasons, plus large-scale commodity-fund buying steered benchmark London Metal Exchange three-month copper prices to historic highs of just over $3,300 per metric ton earlier in April. Copper futures on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange also shot...